iFashion: Virtual Shopping in South Korea

08/30/07

Christine Huang

South Korea’s Shinsegae Department Store is planning on opening the world’s first “advanced virtual reality fashion store,” where customers will be able to use a smart card holding an avatar of themselves (with their real dimensions) that can be used to try on items in the virtual shop and even get them custom-fit. According to iFashion, the virtual store and fitting room site, the joint project between the Clothing Technical Centre at Konkuk University and clothing manufacturer FnC Kolon Corp with support from the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Energy aims to revolutionize virtual and online shopping. Jung Dong-chang, head of the Ministry’s textile industry team, claims that “anyone with this card will be able to easily try on and buy clothes using mobile phones and computers,” and that people with access to others’ smart cards could easily gift their loved ones with clothing without having to worry they’ll be the wrong fit. The project is still in the experimental stage, according to iFashion, but FnC Kolon hopes to have its virtual shop open by November.

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